DPH stands pat on NCLEX for Fijian midwives

The Department of Public Health is putting its foot down on the issue of the Fijian midwives at the Commonwealth Health Center, insisting that they should take and pass the NCLEX examination if they want to continue working at the hospital.

Department of Public Health deputy secretary Pete Untalan said in an interview with the Saipan Tribune that the department is now focusing on the steps to take to address the potential loss of the Fijian midwives.

This comes in the wake of moves within the community to circulate a petition asking DPH to suspend the rules requiring the Fijian midwives to take the NCLEX. Proponents argue that the NCLEX is the licensure exam for nurses—not midwives.

Untalan said the departure of the Fijian midwives is “very unfortunate” as they have been with the hospital since the start. “We recognize their skills and contribution to the community,” he said. “Let me assure the community that Public Health recognizes the outstanding contributions of the Fijian midwives.”

However, he said there are also laws in the CNMI, such as the Nurse Practice Act, that must be upheld. He said everybody, including the Fijian midwives, knew that they were allowed to practice their profession at the hospital for a limited time only and that they have to take and pass the NCLEX if they want to continue working there.

There were originally 12 Fijian midwives at CHC but Untalan said two have already resigned early this month and another two more have expressed their intention to leave. These four midwives were working at the hospital using foreign endorsement licenses that are due to expire this June.

Another batch of the Fijian midwives will be affected by the NCLEX requirement, with the licenses of four more midwives set to expire next year and another two in June 2007.

Untalan said the Fijian midwives are not the only ones affected by the law, since even the nurses in other units and wards are also required to take and pass NCLEX—or they would have to leave the center.

He said these midwives have known from the start when they came here by foreign endorsement that they only had one additional two-year period to renew their license so they could stay in the CNMI. He said every nurse that came in through foreign endorsement would ultimately have to take NCLEX exam.

“It’s the standard, its applied to all U.S. jurisdictions,” he said.

A nurse who is licensed by foreign endorsement will be allowed to practice nursing in the Commonwealth without taking the NCLEX for a period of no more than three or four years, depending on when the nurse’s license fall in the licensure cycle.

Untalan said the bottom line in this issue is that the community will not be left without a nursing staff. He said that, even if all the midwives and nurses leave the hospital, the Commonwealth will still have an institution that is fully staffed to make sure the community’s needs are met.

“Again, we are not putting any less value as to the contributions of the Fijian midwives,” said Untalan. “The Fijian midwives have made tremendous and positive impact throughout the development of the CNMI public health.”

Still, he said that DPH has made a commitment to run a hospital that is built along U.S. standards and this is exactly what they are doing. “The law is very clear about licensing requirements and, unfortunately, there is very little flexibility with the law,” said Untalan.

Untalan said the Public Health continues to recruit for the positions that would soon be vacated. He said they are hiring people so that by June—the license expiration date for the four Fijian midwives—there would be a transition in the department.

“Everybody was thinking that we would lose 40 nurses at one time, but that’s not the case,” he said.